Iraq day 7 – Rig

Iraq day 7 – Rig

Today was spent ‘rigging’ the concert hall for the recording. This means that we have had to lower the lighting gantry and install cable drops onto which we have installed the Schoeps microphones that will be used for the recording. As the lighting gantry is directly above the orchestra, we are using fishing line to tie back the cables in order to position the microphones directly in front of the orchestra.

I would like to acknowledge the hospitality and assistance of Greg from Saad palace. Greg is the senior A/V tech at Saad palace and without Greg’s and his team’s assistance we would never have got this done, so thanks Greg. Your efforts have been much appreciated.

For those readers that enjoy the technical aspects, we are recording on a main M/S pair of Schoeps – MK4 and MK8. We have two strings outriggers – MK2S, two MK21 spots on the woodwind, an MK2S on the horns and an MK2S on the timpani. A rough stereo mix is provided to house for broadcast and for the final CD I will take the material back to Australia for mixdown and mastering. Sound is recorded on separate tracks on a Sound Devices 788T field recorder. A stereo mix is also taken and provided back to the house for split to broadcast and media stations at the back of the hall.

Unfortunately, as I was rigging the venue, I missed the fun that the orchestra had today as today was Children’s Concert day. So while I was rigging the hall, the orchestra and tutors went off to play chamber music to 200 adoring fans at a local school. From what I can gather, Johnny the trumpet tutor was mobbed by a substantial number of under-12’s demanding photos and autographs. Ah, the trappings of fame…

Some drama continues within the orchestra as some of the Kurdish members of the orchestra that currently work for the government have not yet managed to obtain permission to leave the country for the trip to Germany. We understand that this permission will more than likely be forthcoming but has not been received yet. So – things continue to get interesting – watch this space.